I had the pleasure of reading Heel Heat’s recent article on how he got into wrestling, and his journey there, and it was a very enjoyable and interesting read (and if you haven’t read it, you should). I’ve had the honor and privilege to contribute writing content for this site in upwards of about two and a half years, and I cannot for the life of me remember expressing how I even got into this sport in the first place. It is rather an interesting story if I do say so myself, and perhaps there may be some parallels to your journies as well.
For me, it all started, I’d say, at around 2011. I don’t remember how it got into my house, but I remember that I had Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 that I was playing for the Xbox 360. I remember that there was this scary looking guy whose eyes could roll in the back of his head, and his face was in front of the screen. I soon knew him to be the Undertaker. I saw some of my friends playing it at a party we had one night, and I decided to join in. I was just picking randomly, and then I saw that there was a little guy with a mask that caught my attention. His name would be Rey Mysterio. I would spam him in each match I had, watched in awe as I saw him fly across the ring, and gave him all of the titles. One thing I remember having was an inherent nature for my original rival that my brother would always use, John Cena. He didn’t have any wrestling gear, but rather some green shorts and what looked like some sneakers. I couldn’t beat him with Rey Mysterio, so I went on and picked someone whose muscles stood out like a sore thumb and his veins looking like it protruded from his body. That would be Batista. He was unstoppable for me. Powerslam after power slam after Batista Bomb, and I was invincible. Then, my brother countered once again, this time, with Triple H.
I would spam him in each match I had, watched in awe as I saw him fly across the ring, and gave him all of the titles. One thing I remember having was an inherent nature for my original rival that my brother would always use, John Cena. He didn’t have any wrestling gear, but rather some green shorts and what looked like some sneakers. I couldn’t beat him with Rey Mysterio, so I went on and picked someone whose muscles stood out like a sore thumb and his veins looking like it protruded from his body. That would be Batista. He was unstoppable for me. Powerslam after power slam after Batista Bomb, and I was invincible. Then, my brother countered once again, this time, with Triple H. I also couldn’t help but notice some of the hot women WWE had on display, such as Lita and Trish Stratus. Let’s just say my younger self got….very excited.
One thing I remember having was an inherent nature for my original rival that my brother would always use, John Cena. He didn’t have any wrestling gear, but rather some green shorts and what looked like some sneakers. I couldn’t beat him with Rey Mysterio, so I went on and picked someone whose muscles stood out like a sore thumb and his veins looking like it protruded from his body. That would be Batista. He was unstoppable for me. Powerslam after power slam after Batista Bomb, and I was invincible. Then, my brother countered once again, this time, with Triple H.
We would go back and forth for days on end, (and mind you I thought this was all mere fantasy in a video game and never thought this was something I could watch on TV), and then I found who would now become my favorite superstar to date. That would be the Rated R superstar, Edge. I remember in the Smackdown vs. RAW video games, there is a special feature that heels had, being low blows and using nefarious means to win matches. I had Edge picked at random, and I remember loving his corner spear and the look that we would give. I was even more enamored to find out that he was put in a tag team with another one of my favorite superstars, Randy Orton. That would become my favorite tag team, Rated RKO. Their music also got me as well.
However, I gave up hope every time after I played the video game because I didn’t think WWE existed outside of a video game. I thought it was like a Call of Duty franchise. Besides, a lot of them looked like cartoon characters anyways. However, I remember typing in Rey Mysterio on Youtube for the heck of it, and then I saw televised matches of him doing the things I was making him do in the video game. I was jumping up and down for joy and I got mad whenever he lost and elated whenever he won. Of course, I didn’t really know how the framework of a wrestling match worked back then, so I thought it was all real and unscripted. To be precise, my very first video watching WWE came below, when Rey Mysterio was put in a handicap match against the tag team of Kane and The Big Show.
The first full wrestling match I ever saw in its entirety was Team Smackdown vs. Team RAW at Survivor Series in 2005. I was shocked to see all of the players that I controlled behind a video game actually appear on my computer screen. So of course, my curiosity led me to go to other superstars that I had been enamored with, and one of my priorities was Edge.
I don’t know about you guys, but to me, I think a case could be made that Edge is a top 10 superstar in WWE history, and that’s not just the Edgehead in me talking. I remember watching videos of his feud with John Cena, and how he worked at a high level in nearly every aspect. The way he talked, how he wanted the crowd to hate him, and his ring work, while probably not amongst the elite when you think of great ring workers, proved to be a superstar that can be relied upon for a solid match. Then, I began to occupy my time with his former tag team partner, Randy Orton. I remember hitting the RKO on top of Hell In A Cell in Smackdown vs. RAW on John Cena and sending him through the top of the cage. This was another one of my favorite videos when I was younger and early in my high school career. RKO after RKO on a repeat for over 20 minutes. I was in WWE heaven at the time. (Sorry if the video doesn’t show up).
As time went on, I began to familiarize myself with everything in WWE, slowly coming to the realization that most of what I watched were scripted and pre-determined, but it didn’t ruin my ecstatic nature for this new vice of mine. I’d probably be remiss not to mention when I actually began to start watching WWE on a regular basis. It was 2012, approximately 3-4 weeks before WrestleMania. I was scrolling through the channels and I happened to come across the USA network, and a big white “W” that I recognized before from Smackdown vs. RAW appeared on my screen. I noticed some differences, such as CM Punk gelling up his hair and now longer having the long look. I also noticed how top heavy the roster was. At the time, there were only six main eventers to me. They were John Cena, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio. All the others could easily be placed in other feuds in the mid-card.
Now, the characters I played with on Smackdown vs. RAW was different from the ones I saw obviously due to injury, retirements or hiatuses. So I had to do some studying of my own and do some research on some of my favorite characters and others I didn’t know about. I found out that Edge had to retire the year prior because of neck issues, Shawn Michaels was retired the year before that at WrestleMania 26, Rey Mysterio had recurring health issues towards the tail end of his career, and I ended up learning so much else. Since 2012, I’ve been watching WWE television religiously (though I didn’t watch Smackdown frequently because I would be tempted to read the spoilers and see if it was worth the watch).
Then, I’d say at around late 2013 to 2014, I’d look up some of the best matches everyone agrees are one everyone’s list in terms of matches they remember. I was watching matches from the Attitude Era and the Ruthless Aggression Era, and I’ve watched a plethora of fantastic matches. To this day, however, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels’ classic at WreslteMania 21 still stands to this day as my favorite match of all time. The key for a great match for me is that I could watch it over, and over, and over again and never get tired of watching it. If I get goosebumps and excited just as I was the first time I watched it, it was an incredible match.
As far as my first entry on ewrestlingnews.com is concerned, I remember the site used to have an open forum where you could just write and upload to the site freely. I remember writing profiles on guys like Dolph Ziggler, I remember expressing my displeasure with Fandango getting a WrestleMania match with Chris Jericho, and writing on the Undertaker’s streak ending. However, it was clear that I had much to learn in the business and in the industry, and therefore, edifying myself became a priority. I remember that I came under fire and was practically exiled from here because of about three years ago, I compiled a list of who I believed to be the ten worst superstars in WWE history. I remember putting Santino Marella as number 1, and I used his gimmick as a rationale instead of focusing on his wrestling, which if you watched some of his matches, was far from atrocious as some others. While I still have some things to learn, I’d like to think I have come a long way.I’ve learned the psychology of matches, the history of each title, some of the ins and outs of booking, and I even attended my very first live WWE event last year, being NXT: Takeover (as many of you might remember).
Just in case if you’re interested, here are some of top 5’s for various topics in regards to how I got into WWE.
Top 5 Superstars:
- Edge
- Randy Orton
- Chris Jericho
- Kurt Angle
- Rey Mysterio
Top 5 Matches:
- Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 21
- Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit – Royal Rumble 2003
- CM Punk vs. John Cena – Money In The Bank 2011
- Team Smackdown vs. Team RAW – Survivor Series 2005
- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker – WrestleMania 25
Top 5 Theme Songs
- Edge – Metalingus
- Randy Orton – Burn In My Light
- Kane – Slow Chemical
- Chris Benoit – Whatever
- Rey Mysterio – 619
Top 5 Moments:
- Edge cashes in MITB on John Cena
- Rey Mysterio wins WHC at WrestleMania 22
- Undertaker kicks out of Superkick/Pedigree combo at WM 28
- CM Punk wins WWE Championship at MITB 2011
- Randy Orton becomes youngest WHC at Summerslam 2004
Well, that’s my story. I’d certainly love to hear how you guys got into the wrestling world. We all have our unique stories. I told you to mine, now tell me yours. Until next time!
